Rosary scandal: immunity of FPÖ MPs in danger!

On November 20, 2024, National Council President Walter Rosenkranz (FPÖ) received an explosive letter from the Vienna public prosecutor's office. This called for the immunity of three FPÖ MPs who are suspected of having taken part in a Nazi-influenced funeral song to be lifted. In his position, Rosenkranz withheld the request for ten days, even though the rules of procedure required it to be forwarded immediately to the Immunity Committee. This incident led to a complaint of abuse of office by the lawyer Bini Guttmann, a member of the World Jewish Congress, as also reported by 5min.

The legal implications of this inaction are controversial. The constitutional lawyer Heinz Mayer said that Rosenkranz, as President of the National Council, did not act as an executive body and was therefore not liable for abuse of office. Nevertheless, the inaction of the other political parties, which would have the opportunity to unseat Rosenkranz with a two-thirds majority, is criticized. Despite the serious allegations, the SPÖ has already signaled its agreement to examine the extradition request, while the ÖVP, Greens and Neos only want to make a decision after they have examined the documents in detail, as the Standard explains. If political immunity were to be lifted, the fate of the affected MPs, Norbert Nemeth, Harald Stefan and Martin Graf, could be sealed if the investigations do not take their mandated work into account, the Standard also reported.